LONDON MARKETS: Experian Climbs As U.K. Markets Hold Flat

By Simon Kennedy

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- British stocks held steady Wednesday as markets took a break from the previous session's heavy selling, while credit-checking firm Experian PLC posted strong gains after beating earnings expectations.

The FTSE 100 index was virtually unchanged at 5,682.19. Other European markets moved modestly higher after euro-zone finance ministers said a team of officials from the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund would consult with Ireland over the country's debt crisis.

Worries over Ireland, along with fears of a possible rate hike in China, knocked around 2.4% off the U.K.'s benchmark index in the previous session.

Experian was the biggest gainer on the main index Wednesday, rising 4.1% after the company reported a 5.6% rise in fiscal first-half profit to $280 million and lifted its dividend by 29%.

Drug company GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) was another strong performer. The firm's stock rose 2.4% after an advisory panel recommended that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve Benlysta, a lupus drug developed by Glaxo and Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI).

On the downside, shares in Centrica PLC dropped 1.6% after a trading update.

The natural-gas producer and utility said operating profit for the year should be slightly ahead of the consensus forecast, but added that this would be offset by higher-than-expected interest and tax charges.

Outside the main index, shares in Northern Foods PLC and Ireland's Greencore Group jumped 24% and 21% respectively after the pair agreed to a merger.

Shareholders in each of the two convenience-food companies will hold around 50% of the combined business, which will be rebranded as Essenta Foods. The merger will also cut costs by around 40 million pounds ($64 million) a year within three years, the companies said.